Miranda Lambert, Steve Cropper and E.W. “Bud” Wendell will receive stars on the Music City Walk of Fame and the legendary Johnny Cash will be honored with a star during an induction ceremony on Oct. 6, 2015 at 2 p.m. in the Walk of Fame Park, the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp announced.
“These inductees to the Music City Walk of Fame represent the best of Nashville’s music industry, from the gritty and soulful guitar work of Steve Cropper to Miranda Lambert’s powerful singing and songwriting and Bud Wendell’s visionary leadership of the Grand Ole Opry and Gaylord Entertainment,” Mayor Karl Dean said. “And of course Johnny Cash was and still is nothing short of an icon, one of the very finest artists ever to grace our city’s studios and stages. The city of Nashville is proud and honored to be able to recognize each of them for their many accomplishments.”
The newest group of inductees will receive the 67th, 68th, 69th and 70th stars, following the induction last week of award-winning recording artists Trisha Yearwood and Garth Brooks, along with Mayor Dean. Inductees are recognized for their significant contributions to preserving the musical heritage of Nashville and for contributing to the world through song or other industry collaboration.
“Thank you so much to the City of Nashville and Music City Walk of Fame for this honor and privilege,” Lambert said. “I am proud to join a heritage of other female inductees, such as Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Trisha Yearwood, Reba McEntire, Emmylou Harris and Martina McBride. This is a milestone moment that I will cherish forever. I want to congratulate my fellow inductees, Steve Cropper, E.W. “Bud” Wendell and the legendary Johnny Cash – just saying his name alongside mine, takes my breath away.”
Lambert is a five-time reigning CMA and six-time reigning ACM Female Vocalist of the Year and a GRAMMY winner with four Albums of the Year. Her fifth album, Platinum, debuted at #1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 Album Chart and Billboard’s Country Albums Chart.
Cropper has co-written some of music’s biggest classics, including the legendary “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay,” with friend Otis Redding. He is also an accomplished producer, working with the likes of Wilson Pickett, John Mellencamp and John Prine, and masterful guitar player, having toured with Neil Young and Jimmy Buffett. He was also an original member of the Blues Brothers Band. Cropper has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Wendell is one of Nashville’s foremost hospitality executives, having served as vice president of WSM and general manager of the Grand Ole Opry and Opryland theme park. He ultimately served as president and CEO of Gaylord Entertainment, overseeing the launch of the Nashville Network, acquisition of Country Music Television, expansion of the Opryland Hotel, renovation of the Ryman Auditorium and opening of the Wildhorse Saloon.
Cash is among the few artists to sell more than 90 million records. The country music icon is a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, Country Music Hall of Fame and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He has earned 17 GRAMMY awards, including in 2004 for Best Short Form Video for his cover of Nine Inch Nails’ “Hurt.”
Cash’s induction is special recognition by the Music City, Inc. foundation to include Music City legends in the Walk of Fame who have made monumental contributions to the music industry in Nashville.
“This group of inductees represents the diverse genres of music that are thriving in Nashville, plus a hospitality executive in Bud Wendell who had the vision for what Nashville could become as a destination built around the great music that is made here,” said Ken Levitan, Chairman of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp Board of Directors. “You have country music’s reigning Female Vocalist of the Year in Miranda Lambert to a songwriter and guitar man like Steve Cropper whose contributions to soul music in the 1960s are timeless works to the incomparable Johnny Cash.”
The Music City Walk of Fame was created in the fall of 2006 on Nashville’s Music Mile, a roughly one-mile stretch that connects downtown to Music Row. Permanent sidewalk medallions with the names of the inductees are displayed in a star-and-guitar design.
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